It was Friday by the time Lauren heard from Mr Quinn again, telling her to come to his office for a meeting he had arranged with Sophie's lawyer. He had spent some time doing research, before arranging a meeting in order to try and come to an arrangement to keep the settlement out of court.
Lauren didn't especially care about the money; one of the fringe benefits of being the head of the Shiba clan was the fact that money was pretty much an issue. Mr Quinn had already explained that the basis for any lawsuit payout was generally based on the costs incurred by the plaintiff. In Sophie's case, it would be the cost of her medical bills, and the money she lost being unable to go to work while her wrist was injured. The additional sum over and above was generally viewed as a combination of recompense for inconvenience, hurt feelings, pain, and of course, a punishment for the one on the receiving end of the lawsuit.
Lauren was more than happy to pay out to make this whole mess go away. She had already accepted that what she did was wrong, and genuinely wanted to square things up with Sophie to make sure she wasn't left out of pocket as a result of her behaviour. The thing that she did want though, was to get her to drop the restraining order. As a result of a piece of paper, she would be unable to go to Panorama University, the Halls of Residence, or the coffee house Sophie worked at. If she set foot within fifty feet of any of those locations for the duration of the restraining order, Sophie would be able to have her arrested.
Lauren understood why Sophie didn't want her around, but she went to the same university as Jeremy. She lived in the same Halls of Residence building, and she worked in the same coffee shop. It had occurred to Lauren that it might be more than a little bit of a coincidence, but enforcing the restraining order meant that she had effectively banned Lauren from seeing Jeremy for well over half of his average week.
Lauren and Jayden were sitting in a legal office, not far from the university. It was nowhere near as impressive as Mr Quinn's offices, but since it seemed likely Sophie wasn't able to afford legal representation in the same league as Lauren, it was probably the only one she could afford. Mr Quinn sat, sipping a coffee. Lauren had politely declined to get one; it just reminded her of Jeremy. A little while later, Sophie walked in with her attorney, a guy that looked like he could only have been out of college a couple of years. He placed his folder on the desk and looked to the three people on the other side of the desk as they sat down.
"Alright, let's get this over with." Mr Quinn began, sliding over a piece of paper. "We looked at the settlement your client was asking for. We checked your figures the bill for the medical expenses, and in the spirit of resolving this all peacefully, and without the need for a courtroom, we came up with a counter offer."
He slid the paper across the desk to Sophie's lawyer, allowing him to view it. His eyes grew wider, and he showed the paper to Sophie, who furrowed her brows.
"I think you'll find it more than fair." Mr Quinn stated.
"This...this offer is HIGHER than we asked for." Sophie stated.
"My client is genuinely remorseful for her actions, and is more than happy to cover your expenses to make this right." Mr Quinn stated. "She has also stated that she holds no ill will towards your client, and presents no danger to her safety. We are willing to give you that offer and settle out of court, in exchange for your client dropping the restraining order."
"Well, this is a very generous..."
"No." Sophie stated flatly, shoving the paper away and crossing her arms defiantly. Lauren just looked to Mr Quinn, a little astounded. Their offer was indeed significantly higher than the original settlement, something Lauren had insisted on as a way of trying to resolve the issue quickly.
"Sophie, this offer..."
"This is just the kind of thing I should have expected from someone like you!" Sophie snapped at Lauren. "You have money, so you think that you can just go through life acting how you want and buy your way through life? Well, you can take that silver spoon from your mouth and shove it straight..."
"Sophie, please." Her lawyer cut her off. "This offer...we're not likely to get anything better."
"She attacked me!" Sophie reiterated. "I want to feel safe..."
"You are safe; it isn't going to happen again!" Lauren interjected. "Please, I know I did the wrong thing, and I'm willing to pay the price, but Jeremy..."
"No deal!" Sophie reiterated. Her lawyer leaned in closer to talk to her.
"Sophie, this is stupid." He whispered to her. "This settlement will not only cover your expenses, it'll pay your tuition for the rest of the year. Lauren looked to Mr Quinn.
"Would it be possible to speak to Sophie alone?" She asked. Mr Quinn didn't look convinced. "I promise to behave; there are cameras in this room anyway. I'd have to be pretty brain dead to do anything."
"I'd recommend..."
"Fine." Sophie stated, cutting off her lawyer. "Let's hear what she has to say."
Jayden, Mr Quinn and Sophie's lawyer all left the room, leaving Lauren and Sophie alone. Lauren just took a deep breath.
"Jeremy came over last night. We talked a lot about this." Lauren told her.
"Well, I guess you better get used to it." Sophie answered. "It's not like you'll be coming to the halls...unless you want to spend the night in a cell."
"He told me how you two used to date." Lauren continued. "He also told me how after it ended, he made a big effort to stay friends with you."
"Yeah, we're friends." Sophie said with a shrug. "It's not my fault he sucks at picking girlfriends."
"He told me what happened at the coffee shop." Lauren continued. "He was really upset about all this."
"Well, you only have yourself to blame." Sophie snorted. Lauren just sighed.
"Sophie, I really do regret what I've done, but the most important thing to me in all this is Jeremy." She answered. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be more than happy to go to another school, and find somewhere else to get coffee."
"Well, you opened your chequebook so fast, tried to buy your way out of this so easily, it's pretty clear that doesn't matter to you. It's not like you'll miss that money." She stated bitterly. "Maybe this is something that will hurt you."
"So, in order to hurt me, you're willing to hurt Jeremy?" Lauren asked her. "You know that when he's not at the University, he's at the coffee shop, or he's studying. He maybe has a few free hours a week."
"But you..."
"Jeremy was really upset about this. He told me that he wasn't sure how you'd be able to remain friends." Lauren continued. "I told him he had to try. I don't want him to lose you as a friend."
"Well...if he values you more than me..."
"Wait, I just realised, that's what this has been about all along isn't it?" Lauren asked her. "You couldn't care less about me. You just want me to stay away from Jeremy."
Sophie just stared at her, unable to answer. Lauren just shook her head.
"Look, this relationship stuff is pretty new to me. Jeremy's my first boyfriend, but I think I've learned one thing." She continued. "It's not something you can force. Even if I'm not in the picture, do you think that really means he'll go back to you?"
"He never should have..."
"I really want him to keep you as a friend." Lauren told her honestly. "I don't blame you for any of this, but think about it. If you do this, if he does end up having to stop seeing me, how do you really think he'll feel?"
Sophie just looked away and wiped away a tear. It had been quite a while; she and Jeremy had broken up months before he met Lauren.
"I never should have lost him." Sophie murmured. "We were good together, I really loved him. I really wanted to be with him, but any time he was with other girls I just...I just couldn't help myself. I tried to drive everyone away from him. I was so paranoid someone was going to take him away that in the end, he told me he couldn't take my jealousy anymore. I drove him away."
"I don't know what will happen in the future. I'd like to think I'll be with him in the future, but I don't know what's going to happen." Lauren assured her. "All I know is, he cares for me a lot. For your sake, if you care for him half as much as you say you do, drop the restraining order. If you don't, then I might not be able to see him, but I think we both know..."
"He'd never forgive me." Sophie concluded, seeing Lauren's reason. She dried her eyes. "I'd lose him for good."
"I swear, I will never raise a hand to you again." Lauren told her. "We don't have to be friends. But we can at least be civil to each other. I think we both can manage that."
"Jeremy was trying to convince me that I misjudged you." Sophie informed her. "Maybe I have. You're still willing to try and reason with me, even after all this?"
"I've been through some difficult stuff too." Lauren assured her. "I know how much a simple act of kindness can mean."
"Bring the others back in." She told her. Lauren went to the door, and gestured everyone back inside. As they sat down, Sophie took a deep breath.
"I'll accept the offer." She told them. "Where do I sign?"
Mr Quinn just looked at Lauren, not certain as to what she had said. He would generally advise clients against talking directly with their plaintiff, especially when the previous contact had sparked off the lawsuit in the first place. Lauren just nodded at which he slid the document to Sophie.
"So, you sign this, and there'll be no court case." He reminded Sophie. "It's a clause in the contract."
"I think we've all wasted enough time over this." Sophie answered, quickly scribbling a signature on the document. "Alright, is that it?"
"Pretty much." Her lawyer answered, taking the document. "I'll get a copy to you this afternoon."
As Lauren and Jayden left with Mr Quinn, Jayden held his sister.
"So, how did you do it?" He asked her. Lauren just smiled.
"I do like to keep some secrets." She told him. "So...um...thanks for coming home."
"Any time sis." Jayden answered. "Any time."